It is no secret that among the challenges Richland County faces is the effective retention of young adults. In fact, some have gone so far as to label the local problem a “brain drain” – a term commonly used to describe the exodus of highly trained or intelligent people from a particular area. Now, a young adult demographic has formed the Richland Young Professionals (RYP) to counter and correct that very problem.
As a collection of business and community leaders, the Richland Community Development Group (RCDG) was acutely aware of local companies’ struggles in talent recruitment and retention.
“At RCDG a common thought that had been said repeatedly, ‘We can’t attract and retain young people. Nobody wants to live here. They all move away or nobody wants to move here in the first place,'” related Michael Whisler, president for RYP and commercial lender at Richland Bank.
Richland Young Professionals credits their formation to the work of RCDG. Executive Director Bridget McDaniel researched the need for the group and based upon those findings, RCDG president and Richland Bank president John Brown brought together a group of nine young professionals within the bank and encouraged them to get a young professionals initiative started.
The group got started in the summer of 2013 and began with careful planning. In launching, the group had one very clear goal – this effort needed to last.
“Because this is not a new concept to Richland County,” said Jessica Gribben, who serves as vice president for RYP and a branch manager for Richland Bank. She said that the group took time to examine why previous groups stopped meeting.
“We realized we needed to be organized first and that we needed to have long term planning,” said Gribben.
While their mission is evolving, RYP seeks to connect with their peers, to collaborate on community projects, and ultimately, to help each other and the community to thrive.
“One thing that I think is kind of indicative of our group’s attitude is…the fact that we actually had too many people want to be in the leadership positions we thought we needed at the beginning,” said Bryant Fox, treasurer for RYP and management associate for Richland Bank. “To have that overwhelming ‘I want to step in; I want help; I want to be a part of building this;’ was a very good problem to have.”
The group is comprised of approximately 50 young professionals. In September, Richland Young Professionals held a meeting at the Richland Area Chamber of Commerce building on North Mulberry Street. Since then, regular leadership and committee meetings have put organizational structure in place and been planning for the group’s first event in January.
As for the perception that young professionals do not want to move to Richland County, the group’s initial data offers an interesting study.
“Out of the 45-50 people involved so far, about half are transplants,” shared Whisler, a native of Urbana and Ashland University alum. “For them to be involved at this point means that we have put the message out ‘You have to want to do work.’ So you want to be a part of getting this started and are doing work. And 50/50 [percent] is local and transplants, so that says a lot.”
“I think initially, we’re just trying to connect people,” added Christina Thompson, community and economic development coordinator for Shelby. Thompson, a Cleveland area native, also noted that RYP will seek to add professional development opportunities in the future.
Richland County Young Professionals are open to an age range of 21-45 years old. Gribben noted that the group is especially seeking individuals who wish to contribute to the broader mission of connecting, collaborating and thriving.
“I don’t think you have to wear a suit and tie to be a young professional, but we want people who are driven and who are excited and who want to make this a better place,” said Gribben.
Richland Young Professionals’ first event will be January 16 at the Happy Grape in Lexington beginning at 5:30 p.m. The focus of the evening will be a “first taste” of Richland Young Professionals.
“There’s a lot of excitement. We feel this groundswell, not only from our community partners, but from people our age,” said Whisler. “In this community they want a voice. They have things to say, they have things to do.”
“You know, they want to contribute and do something, but they haven’t had the means to do that,” he added.
For interest in events or involvement, Richland County Young Professionals can be reached at RichlandYP@chooserichland.com; through their Facebook page or via Twitter.
